Kylie Minogue has defended Miley Cyrus over her raunchy antics and complained that male pop stars are more likely to get away with bad behaviour than their female counterparts.

The Voice coach and pop princess said that she respected "unapologetic" women like Miley and Jump singer Rihanna.

Kylie, 45, told Sky News: "I admire people like Miley, like Rihanna, girls that are just... they are quite unapologetic about what they're doing.

"Is it too much? It depends on what your personal taste is. But she's definitely a scapegoat for what might be happening in the broader sense in pop music."

She added: "There's always been sex, drugs and rock and roll. But... the guys seem to get away with it."

Miley sparked headlines with a twerking routine at an awards bash last year, and raised eyebrows again recently when she performed in her underwear during her Bangerz Tour.

She later tweeted her fans to say that she wore the underwear because she did not have time to get changed, writing: "Not a new outfit... I didn't make my quick change and I couldn't not come out for the song so I just had to run out in my undies."